The mood was light and cheery as the group of people came together on this special day. Music was in the air as the smell of food being cooked gently wafted on the breeze. Arriving by car from all parts of the country, laughter was heard and smiles were freely given as family members and friends and acquaintances greeted one another on this joyous occasion. You see, today was a Achmed and Yasmin’s wedding day. Achmed, just 26-years-old was outside, greeting guests when he heard a strange loud screeching sound approaching, something akin to the sound of a Star Wars TIE fighter flying by. Suddenly there was a bright flash of orange light, like a thunderbolt from heaven, and with that, Achmed and Jasmin, and all their hopes and dreams were gone. You see, they lived in Yemen and although America was half-a-world away, the War on Terror was being brought to them via drone. Although none of the wedding party was Al-Qaeda affiliated, remote operators were suspicious of the large gathering and decided to act. Today should have been the one happiest day of the young couples lives, the joining of two people together forever on the path of life. Instead, it was the end and was one of the saddest days for the survivors. The wedding party had become a funeral.
America’s War on Terror began immediately after the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers. Shortly thereafter, PBS reports that — "The first reported drone strike against Al-Qaeda happened in Yemen in 2002. The CIA ramped up secret drone strikes in Pakistan under President George W. Bush in 2008. Under Obama, they have expanded drastically in Pakistan and in Yemen in 2011.” The article goes on to note that — "The CIA isn’t alone in conducting drone strikes. The military has acknowledged “direct action” in Yemen and Somalia. Strikes in those countries are reportedly carried out by the US Army.” Apparently, there are at least two different “kill lists” that are floating around. One is from the CIA and one is from the Army. Sometimes a name can appear on both lists. Anwar al-Awlaki was one of those winners of this morbid lottery.
The curious case of Anwar al-Awlaki is a troubling one. He was born in America to a student father and lived in America for the first 7 years of his life, before moving back to Yemen. He lived in Yemen for 11 years before returning to America to study at Colorado State University, where he earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He went on to become a Ph.D candidate at George Washington University in Washington DC. He was also a muslim cleric. Al-Awlaki was a charismatic person, “….with a blog, a Facebook page, the al-Qaeda magazine Inspire, and many YouTube videos, the Saudi news station Al Arabiya described him as being the "bin Laden of the Internet.” And much like bin Laden, al-Walaki was somehow connected to many of the terrorist attacks of the 2000s. He preached to 3 of the 9/11 hi-jackers, knew the Fort Hood shooter, and allegedly was the mastermind behind the 2009 Christmas Day attempted bombing of an airliner. The Americans didn’t like him and neither did the Yemeni government, putting him on trial and convicting him in absentia of plotting to kill people and of being part of Al-Qaeda. There is no doubt he was a bad guy and the world is better off without him. The troubling part of the story begins two weeks later.
Senator Rand Paul told the story during his filibuster of John Brennan's CIA nomination — "There was a man named al-Awlaki. He was a bad guy, by all evidence available to the public that I've read, he was treasonous. I have no sympathy for his death. I still would have tried him in a federal court for treason and I think he could have been executed. But his son was 16 years old, had missed his dad, gone for two years. His son sneaks out of the house and goes to Yemen. His son is then killed by a drone strike.”
Senator Rand Paul continued by saying — "…When the President's spokesman was asked about al-Awlaki's son, you know what his response was? This I find particularly callous and particularly troubling. The President's response to the killing of al-Awlaki's son, he said he should have chosen more responsible father. You know, it's kind of hard to choose who your parents are.” That's right. A 16 years old kid, not on any terrorist lists and not suspected of any crimes, was killed two weeks after his father and he was blamed for his own death simply because his already dead dad was a bad guy. Crazy, right?
While many around the world would say — "Yes, that is crazy. Yes, that is wrong.” The simple fact is that al-Awlaki junior was just one of thousands killed. In a speech, Obama himself joked about “being pretty good at killing people”. As proof, Business Insider wrote in 2013 — "Obama’s administration also expanded the drone war: There have been 326 drone strikes in Pakistan, 93 in Yemen, and several in Somalia — killing upwards of 4,000 people overall — compared to a total of 52 strikes under George Bush.” The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has reported that there were somewhere between 475 – 891 “civilians” killed. Or to read that another way, 475 — 891innocent bystanders that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time are now dead. In fact, one White House official told the New York Times about a joke that for the CIA, “three guys doing jumping jacks,” was a terrorist training camp.
While the talk of flying robots of death, also known as drones, has been discussed before, “the Intercept has obtained a cache of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the U.S. military’s assassination program in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The documents, provided by a whistleblower, offer an unprecedented glimpse into Obama’s drone wars.” There are 8 parts to the story. Wired notes that — "The revelations about the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command actions include primary source evidence that as many as 90 percent of US drone killings in one five month period weren’t the intended target.” 90%! To put it another way, out of 10 dead people, 1 was guilty and 9 innocent! How could this be?
Shedding light on this issue, Reason notes that — "The source underscored the unreliability of metadata, most often from phone and computer communications intercepts. These sources of information, identified by so-called selectors such as a phone number or email address, are the primary tools used by the military to find, fix, and finish its targets.” That’s right. Metadata. The government is using metadata to track and kill people. Remember Snowden and his revelation that the US government was capturing metadata on people around the world? and the quick pushback from pundits stating that metadata was harmless? It couldn’t be used to identify a person? Apparently, they were right. A person can’t be identified after a drone strike because all that is left of said person — is pieces.
So, what do you think dear listeners — "Is a 10% drone kill rate acceptable for anyone?”
